JAKARTA — The implementation of the 43rd ASEAN Summit which took place in Jakarta was able to help realize an increase in investment and trade.
According to the Chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid, investment and trade are indeed the lifeblood of the economies of ASEAN countries.
Therefore, this must be able to be managed jointly to create prosperity.
It is also undeniable that ASEAN actually has enormous investment potential.
“We cannot stand alone, ASEAN must realize the strength and investment potential it has to further strengthen ASEAN’s position as a global investment haven,” said Arsjad.
Furthermore, he also said that the Southeast Asia region itself has very promising potential and investment opportunities in various fields such as agriculture and food, digital economy, private-public health and electric vehicles.
Then other potentials exist in the carbon market sector and the regional QT payment system.
With this enormous potential and opportunity, ASEAN has become a target for foreign direct investment (FDI).
It turns out that the increase in investment in ASEAN also continues to be high. In 2010 alone, FDI was only around 23 billion US dollars, but it skyrocketed to 47 billion US dollars in 2021.
“Apart from investment potential, Southeast Asia also has the advantage of large natural resources to meet global energy demand,” continued Arsjad.
On the digital economy side, ASEAN is also experiencing very significant growth, namely in 2022 it was recorded at 194 billion US dollars and is projected to continue to grow to 330 billion US dollars in 2025.
It is undeniable that ASEAN itself is a haven for foreign investment, even the European Union has highlighted how solid relations with regional countries are in the field of trade and investment.
“We have very solid trade and investment relations,” said EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan revealed that Russia is an important trade and investment partner for ASEAN. This is also one proof of how promising regional countries are.
Currently, Russia itself is the 9th largest investor in ASEAN, both for investment and trade balance.
“Russia is an important trading partner for ASEAN, Russia ranks 9th in terms of investment in ASEAN in 2022, among ASEAN dialogue partners,” said Zulhas.
